Spreading Their Wings
by Michael2
Summary: Three years after the end of the First Robotech War, one of many battle cruisers set forth to explore the galaxy under the newly-formed Robotech Expeditionary Forces Command. REFCOM
1. Chapter 1

_June_

_15 years after the event. _

Colored lights from the liquid crystal displays of the monitors provide most of the light for the bridge of the battle cruiser. The bridge crew watches the monitors. The huge near-spherical shape of a planet dominates the view from the bridge.

"It's really hot down there," says a crewman, looking at the monitor screen. "About 180 Fahrenheit in the equatorial regions."

"So much for shore leave down there," says United Nations Spacy Commander Aaron Leibowitz. He strokes his short-cropped beard with his index finger.

"Sir, ma'am, spectral analysis indicates that the planet has a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere," says another crewman. "Maybe we could walk around on the surface near the polar regions at night."

"There seem to be radio transmissions from the planet," says a third crewman. "I wonder if there are survivors down there."

"Captain," says a radarman watching the radar screens. "We're detecting six objects rising up from the atmosphere. Their velocity is increasing."

"Keep an eye on those signals," replies the captain.

It is not surprising that there are people down there, if the intelligence reports were accurate, although it would not have not been surprising if there was no one left- or at least no one left to broadcast radio waves or launch rockets. The people on the bridge wonder what will happen. Are those blips, speeding towards the battle cruiser, a welcoming flight? Or missiles?

Captain Lisa Hayes looks at the planet, preparing to make a decision.

Ooooooo

Somewhere beneath the planet, there is a network of hardened underground shelters. The shelters had been constructed long ago, in the event of a massive thermonuclear war. They consist of huge underground buildings connected by tunnels made of reinforced concrete. The shelters had served the descendants of its builders on a day that would live in infamy. The shelters have huge stockpiles of food and water, and even hydroponic rooms where fresh vegetables can be grown.

People watch the monitor screens. The monitor screens are similar in function to the monitor screens of the battle cruise high above the planet, if not in style.

"Contact is in six minutes*," says someone watching the radar screen. "I wonder, sir, if they are really the _rawb'tok _people."

"Who else could it be?" says another person.

*This section of dialogue is, of course, translated from the original. Measurements are translated into earthly measurements.


	2. Chapter 2

_May_

The glass window has a great view of Barbados's Carlisle Bay. Various types of boats float on the deep blue water, and palm trees sway in the breeze on a beach next to the bay. Cumulus clouds litter the sky above. It is always a great view to go to in the mornings.

Sitting on a leather chair behind her desk, Captain Lisa Hayes looks over the most recent supply reports. The office is spacious, which is typical for a Spacy captain assigned to a shore post.

_And Barbados is one of the choice posts, _Lisa had thought when she received her orders to take her post here, at the headquarters of the Second Space Fleet, about four months ago.

She glances at a wall-mounted clock to check the time. Just before she can translate the position of the hands into a position, she hears the door open.

A dark-haired woman stands at the door. She is dressed in a short-sleeve white shirt and white pants, with a black tie around the neck- typical dress for an enlistee assigned to an office.

"What is it, Corporal?" asks Lisa.

"Ma'am, the admiral wishes to see you now," replies the corporal.

"You are dismissed, Corporal," says Lisa even as she leaves her office. The admiral she is going to see is Vice Admiral Shin Lung, the commander of the Second Space Fleet. In a few minutes, she stands before double-oak doors, both doors finely carved.

She enters into an office that is as big as her living room on base. A soft blue carpet covers the floor. The window reveals an even better view of Carlisle Bay. A bookcase filled with books stands on the left side of the room.

The centerpiece of the room is a huge mahogany desk. The papers and the laptop computer are well organized and tidy. Sitting behind the desk is a dark-haired man dressed in short-sleeve khaki. Lisa does not even have to see the three stars on his collar before standing at attention.

"Captain Lisa Hayes reporting as ordered, sir," she says.

"I have some bad news for you, Captain Hayes," says Admiral Shin, his English heavily accented. "I regret to inform you that you will not be able to participate in the racquetball match with our Space Marine counterparts. Furthermore, you will have to clean out your desk."

"Is that all, Admiral?"

"You are to take a new assignment, Captain. You will be commanding officer on board the _Tokugawa._"

Lisa had heard of the _Tokugawa_; it was one of the many interstellar starships being constructed.

"The _Tokugawa_ is nearly finished," continues Shin. "As you know, Second Fleet was assigned to REFCOM's space component. I made the recommendation that you be assigned as its commander. Your first order of business is to tour the ship. It's at the Roswell Fleet Yards, in New Mexico."

"And what would be my second order of business, sir?" asks Lisa.

"Submit personnel recommendations to me," answers the admiral. "The Supreme Command and REFCOM want the _Tokugawa's _shakedown cruise to start before the week is over. And your third order of business is to get Commander McKinney up to speed. He will fill in for your old post for now."

"Then I shall make travel arrangements to go to Roswell."

"I've made those travel arrangements already, Captain Hayes. You leave at 0500 tomorrow. You are dismissed."

"Aye aye, sir," replies Lisa.

Oooooooooo

"We just got the interior lighting turned on yesterday," says Lieutenant Commander Cavit as he walks down the corridor of the huge starship. "And just a week ago you had to wear a hard hat and overalls to be in this corridor. Some of the areas of the ship are still hard hat areas."

"That one up there seems to be burned out," says Captain Lisa Hayes, looking up at the ceiling.

"There might be a loose wire somewhere."

Lisa had arrived at the Roswell Fleet Yards in Roswell, New Mexico at around noon. The Spacy had suborbital aircraft that could have gotten her here from Barbados in less than an hour, but one would have to be a flag officer to reserve such flights. The warm dry air greeted her briefly as she walked from the plane to the car.

As she was sitting in the car, she could see the _Tokugawa_. The ship is almost as big as the SDF-1 _Macross_ was. Commander Cavit greeted her when the car reached the ship. She had been acquainted with Cavit, who had been an engineering officer on the _Macross_ during the SDF-1 campaign.

"I wonder why it's being launched from Earth instead of from orbit," says Lisa.

"If this baby can't take off from Earth's gravity well, it won't survive in space," replies the commander.

They walk into a room with stainless steel tables and shelves and counters. Pots and pans hang from racks.

Commander Cavit turns a faucet, and a stream of water comes out. He puts a plastic cup under the faucet and drinks the water.

"Can't have a fully-manned spaceship without fresh water," says Cavit. "Water's even more important than PC."

Lisa nods; that was one lesson she had learned back at the Academy and while serving on no less than two different spaceships.

The two of them walk through some more corridors, going up some elevators. They reach a door.

"Go ahead, ma'am," replies Cavit.

Lisa opens the door and finds a studio apartment inside. The bed is in the back, and a coffee table and a sofa is near the front door. There is a small alcove with a miniature version of the ship's main galley.

"Those would be your quarters, Captain Hayes," says the engineering officer.

"It was a lot more spacious than when I was stationed aboard ARMD-10," says Lisa. "I and four other girls had to sleep on shelves in a closet."

"The ARMD's were cramped," says Commander Cavit. "The captain's quarters on those were as big as…well, that door back there leads to a private head; that should give you a clue as to how big the captain's quarters were. Now I should show you to the bridge."

After walking through more corridors, Lisa enters the bridge of the huge ship. The ship has all sorts of consoles to monitor everything from engine temperatures to environmental cultures. The captain sits down on a leather chair.

"I could get used to it, Commander," says Lisa.

"No problem," replies Cavit. "Time to go now, ma'am. The ship is not officially yours…yet."

Ooooooooo

The brakes on the blue Toyota Avalon slow the tires and cause the car to come to a complete stop near a hangar. Captain Lisa Hayes steps out, greeted by air considerably cooler than the air in Barbados or New Mexico. There is a veritech fighter parked next to the hangar- a VF-4 Lightning. Another VF-4 Lightning, in its battloid mode, stands next to it as technicians access the engines located in the lower legs. A sergeant salutes the captain, and Lisa returns the salute.

"Lisa!" yells a male voice.

"Good afternoon, Rick," replies Lisa. "How are things going here?"

"We're wrapping up the test flights on the Lightnings," says Captain Rick Hunter. "Some of the squadrons have been assigned Lightnings, and I've sent instructors TAD to easy the transition from the Valks. I spoke to Max about it; he was excited to fly this."

Lisa looks at Rick, a dark-haired man of average height. He is wearing a brown jacket over his service khakis. Captain Hunter had served in the military for five years, ever since he entered Basic and then the accelerated VF flight program on board the SDF-1 _Macross._ His current assignment is the Lightning Project headquartered in the United Earth Forces Joint Test Flight Center near Astrakhan, Russia.

Rick is a captain and a chief test pilot- and Lisa's lover.

"I'm glad you are wrapping things up here, Rick. That means you'll be available for a new assignment."

"What assignment, Lisa?"

"I've been assigned to command the battle cruiser _Tokugawa_. I'm making personnel recommendations to Admiral Shin, the commander of the Second Fleet. I am recommending that you be assigned as CAG."

"Are you doing this for purely professional reasons, Captain Hayes?" asks Rick.

"No," admits Lisa. "But you are well-qualified. You managed to lead Skull Squadron just a year after you joined up. The only other person I know of who could lead the _Tokugawa's _air wing is Max."

"But Max has only been a commander for less than a year, and the CAG position needs a captain or colonel to fill it," says Rick.

"Ultimately, the final decision is with Spacy Headquarters," says Lisa. "But they do give great weight to a captain's personnel recommendations- especially for those who would work closely with her."

"Count me in," says Rick. "I want to talk to you more about other things. Are you available to meet at the O-club when I get off at around 1730?"

"My flight does not leave until tomorrow morning," says Lisa. "I'll see you there."

"I have to admit, though. Barbados would be such a nice place to work. It was sure a surprise to me when I visited two months ago. Here, the snowplows were still plowing some of the taxiways. To be greeted with warm tropical air…"

Memories of that March weekend in Barbados surface in Rick's mind, especially the evenings. He snaps back to the present to continue his duties.

Oooooooo

_You're gonna walk this way._

The digital jukebox inside the bar is playing classic rock from the 1980's. The bar has a wooden floor, with pennants of various sports teams. The backlit color LCD Zeniths are tuned to sports from around the world- and even beyond it. The happy-hour crowd is gathered in here, all having drinks from beer to whiskey at reduced prices.

"That's three for the screwdriver," says Vincent Grant, giving the mixture of vodka and orange juice to a man in his thirties.

"Vince, how's your wife and boy?" asks the man, clad in blue jeans and a plaid shirt, paying for the drink with cash.

"Great," replies Vince. "Little Bowie's learning how to talk now. Jean is working at the hospital."

Vince had been working at this bar in Beaufort, South Carolina for two years. He had learned the fine art of serving drinks when he was living in Macross City during the SDF-1 campaign. His choice of living in South Carolina was based on the climate here and the fact that he has surviving relatives here, including one grandfather.

A man in a short-sleeve dark blue uniform enters the room. Vince recognizes the uniform.

"Is there a Lieutenant Vincent Grant here," asks the man, a Spacy sergeant.

"Well, I'm Vincent Grant, though only Second Lieutenant Vincent Grant one weekend a month," replies the bartender. "Would you like a drink?"

"No, sir," replies the sergeant. "I'm from the Reserve Center, and I have deployment orders for you."

The sergeant hands Vince an envelop with the U.N. Spacy seal.

_Looks like I'll have to tell the boss to hire a temp. _

Ooooooo

"Vermilion Leader to Vermilion Flight," says the VF pilot. "We have made contact with enemy fighters. Vermilion Four, cover my six. Vermilion Two and Three, cover the bomber's three and nine."

"Copy that," says a voice.

The Vermilion flight Leader takes the stick. She can see her wing mates taking position escorting a huge bomber. Their mission is simple- escort a high-altitude bomber to its bombing run.

"You know, ma'am, I wonder why we'd need to escort the bomber. I mean, we could just bomb targets from orbit."

"Sometimes orbital support is not available," says Vermilion Leader. "Get ready."

One of the enemy fighters flies towards the bomber. Vermilion Leader gets the enemy in her crosshairs and fires a missile. The enemy is in flames. "Scratch one."

She watches her radar screen as her team engages the enemy.

"You've got one on your tail, Vermilion Four!" yells a pilot.

"I know, I can't shake…"

"We lost Vermilion Four," says another voice.

"I copy," says Vermilion Leader. She presses the pedal and turns the control yoke. She sees another enemy fighter, and makes short work of it with a little cannon fire. "Where did the others go? There were five of them."

"I can't see them, but they seem to be close by," says Vermilion Two.

Suddenly the leader sees the engines of the bomber aflame.

"Your mission failed, Vermilion Team," says a male voice.

And then everything goes dark. The canopy lifts up to reveal a ceiling.

First Lieutenant Shannon Cole steps out and stands at attention to her commanding officer.

"You could not see the enemy coming up from above?" asks Commander Max Sterling, commander of the Skull Squadron.

"You should not blame her, sir," says one of the other pilots. "Azure Flight is simply better."

"Your flight shot down the bomber, Lieutenant Ikazuchi," says Max. "But there is still room for improvement. Commander De Gaulle and I will review this exercise."

The two flight leaders look at their squadron commander. His blue dyed hair stands out much more so than his glasses. Max Sterling has been one of the aces of the First Robotech War, scoring more kills than any of the other fighter pilots. Much in his life had changed during the SDF-1 campaign.

"Is there anything else, sir?" asks Lieutenant Cole.

"You're all dismissed," says Max.

As the veritech pilots leave, a young woman enters the room. "Commander Sterling," she says. "Captain Goldstein wishes to speak with you and Commander De Gaulle."

Max and Lieutenant Commander Claude De Gaulle leave the training room and walk into one of the conference rooms. The conference room is simple, with a main wooden table and a side table where pitchers of water or coffee would sit.

An image appears, that of a man with a prominent big nose. He is dressed in service khakis.

"Commander Max Sterling here," says Max. "How may I help you, sir?"

"Commanders, your squadron is being deployed into space," says Captain Harmon Goldstein. "You will be assigned to the air wing of the _Tokugawa_. The ship was just finished and is ready for its shakedown flight. My office will e-mail you with further details. That is all."

Max picks up a phone and dials a number. "Corporal, have all pilots meet me in the briefing room now," he says.

Ooooooo

As the sun sets, Max drives to his on base home at the air station near Lemoore, California. Skull Squadron had been reassigned here about four months ago. Already, the day air is warm. Max had heard that summertime temperatures frequently top one hundred degrees.

He enters his home- a typical house for a commander stationed shoreside. The living room would be spacious if it was not packed with babies' toys.

Max turns on the TV, which reveals a baseball game. He hears the front door open.

"Max," says a green-haired woman holding an infant.

"Miriya," says Max, kissing his wife. "Was little Dana any trouble?"

"Not today," replies Miriya.

Max sits down, admiring the woman's figure. Miriya Parino is a lieutenant commander and XO of a training squadron located on base. Few would believe him if he told them how they met. The night they first met, she tried to kill him.

"I've something to tell you," says Max. "My squadron's being deployed."

"Where?" asks Miriya. "Afghanistan? Brazil?" They both know that renegade Zentraedi are hiding out in those places, and the United Earth Forces are trying to root them out.

"We're being deployed to the _Tokugawa_," says her husband. "It's going to have a shakedown cruise." He sits down on the couch. "This would be the first time I've been away from you for long."

Dana walks towards him. The one-year-old had recently learned to walk on her own two feet.

"We'd better make the best of it before you ship out," says Miriya.


	3. Chapter 3

_June_

Second Lieutenant Vince Grant, clad in a Class "C" uniform, sits at the helm of the _Tokugawa_. Ahead of him, he can see the mountains of New Mexico. He looks around at the bridge crew, whom he had just recently met.

Captain Lisa Hayes and Commander Aaron Leibowitz enter the bridge. Like the others, they are dressed in Class "C" officer uniforms, a short-sleeve white shirt for men or a short-sleeve blouse for women, white pants or white skirt, and polished black shoes.

Lisa looks down. There is not as much fanfare as there was when the SDF-1 _Macross_ was launched five years ago. She notices a bunker where observers can watch the launch.

"Engineering reports reflex furnaces are functioning," says Lieutenant Grant. "Water and air purification operating within standard parameters, ma'am."

"All crew report that they are strapped in for launch," says a young crewman.

"Open a channel to the Fleet Yard observation bunker," says Lisa.

"Yes, ma'am," says a communications specialist. A holographic image of a crowd appears in front of the window. Lisa recognizes Miriya standing among the people watching their loved ones depart for space.

Vice Admiral Shin Lung looks at Captain Hayes and the bridge staff. He too is dressed in Class "C's".

"Admiral Shin, this is Captain Hayes of the _Tokugawa,_" says Lisa. "We are ready to launch."

"It's a go," replies the commander of the 2nd Space Fleet.

"_Tokugawa _to Roswell control, we are ready for takeoff," says Lisa.

"Standby, Tokugawa."

"Our vector into orbit is ready," says Grant. "We just need clearance from ground control."

The crew waits for the go-ahead from Roswell ground control. Ground control keeps telling them to standby.

"You are cleared for launch," says the traffic control officer after a good half hour.

"Fire the main engines," says Lisa.

Everyone on board feels pressed down as the _Tokugawa_ rises into the air with an acceleration of 2 g, with reflex furnaces providing the power. In just a little over two minutes they are two hundred miles above the surface.

"We are approaching the assigned orbit, Captain," says Lieutenant Grant. "Reducing thrust….We are now at zero acceleration."

Lisa removes a bean sack from her skirt pocket and lets it go. It falls onto the deck. "Gravity control works," she says. She picks up a handset. "Engineering, is everything okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," replies the chief engineering officer. "All systems operating normally. Especially water and air purification and distribution."

"Very well," says Lisa. "We will test all onboard systems before moving to the next phase."

And so the crew works to check every system, to find out if the launch from Earth had damaged any of the ship's systems. After an hour of running tests, they inform Captain Hayes that everything works fine.

"We have clearance from Earth orbital traffic control," says Grant.

"Take us to fifteen thousand miles," says Lisa.

The ship accelerates, and more of the planet Earth is revealed. Lisa looks down upon it. The whole world looks peaceful from up here. One can almost forget that there are raids by renegade Zentraedi and old ethnic tensions getting hot down there. In orbit around the planet are clouds of debris, the remains of wrecked Zentraedi warships.

"We're at fifteen thousand miles," says Grant. "All calculations are complete."

"Captain?" asks Commander Leibowitz.

"Begin the hyperspace fold," says Lisa.

"All crew, prepare for hyperspace fold," says a crewman.

"Hyperspace fold in three," says Grant. "Two. One."

And then multicolored lights fill the room, a sensation Lisa experienced five times in her life. The images in the room double, and Earth disappears from view.

When the lights disappear, Lisa sees star-dotted space.

"Where are we?" she asks.

"Right where we expected to be, ma'am," replies Lieutenant Grant.

"Engineering, this is the bridge," says Lisa. "Is the fold drive still there?"

"Yes, ma'am," replies the engineering officer. "We're now running tests."

Lisa breathes a sigh of relief. The first time she took a trip through hyperspace, the fold drives disappeared, requiring over a year to return to Earth.

"Sensors indicate a large object," says a radarman. "I have it on visual here, ma'am."

Lisa and Commander Leibowitz look at the screen. They see an ice-covered rock, the same rock where Macross City used to be.

"There's much to do before we fold back to Earth," says Lisa.

Ooooooo

"All targets have been destroyed," says Lieutenant Grant.

The _Tokugawa_ had done a weapons test. The ship is armed with many weapons, some to destroy enemy mecha, others to destroy enemy ships about the _Tokugawa's _size. Radio-controlled drones were sent out, and Vince operated the anti-mecha guns from the bridge.

"Good shot, Grant," says Lisa. "Now for the second batch. This time, we test independent fire."

"All gunnery crews stand by," says Grant. "Local fire control is enabled. Launch the targets."

More of the drones are launched from the flight deck. The gunnery crews, having local fire control, aim at the drones and fire cannons and laser beams. Within a few minutes, the expensive drones become scrap only fit for recycling.

"I'll be in my office to review the weapons test," says Lisa. "Commander, you have the bridge."

Oooooooo

"The galley works," says Captain Rick Hunter, eating the beefsteak cooked in a mushroom gravy.

"You know, we are right back where we started," says Commander Max Sterling. "I saw the island from the observation lounge. I remember when I was just a kid, and it awed me to see an alien starship being reconstructed. Now we're right near the island."

The two of them sit at the officers' mess during the dinner break. There are about one hundred commissioned officers on board, among a crew of about one thousand people. Officers and enlistees eat the same food- it is a rule that Lisa had made.

"I don't know if we really are back to where we started," says Rick. "The island's orbiting the sun, and the sun is orbiting the center of the Milky Way. And the Milky Way Galaxy is moving away from most of the other galaxies."

"How are things between you and Lisa?" asks Max.

"Great," says Rick. "We'll be seeing each other a lot more often."

"Miriya's at home with Dana."

"What is it that she does?"

"Instructs pilot candidates. She's learning how to use the new Lightnings. Which reminds me, we'll have to test the flight deck's systems."

"The last time I flew a plane near the island, it was when I was visiting Roy to see him off to his mission."

Oooooooo

Just after dinner, Rick is inside the cockpit of a Stonewell Bellcom VF-4 Lightning veritech fighter. He had learned how to use this new fighter during his time in Astrakhan, and it feels natural as the VF-1S Valkyrie he had flown for four years.

_Which was taken apart because of too many fatigue cracks._

Fatigue cracks are cracks in an object's material when the object is subjected to stress- such as aerospace dogfighting.

"This is… Big Leader," says Rick, remembering that he is not Skull Leader anymore, but the _Tokugawa's_ CAG. "I am ready for takeoff."

"Copy that, Big Leader," replies Vince Grant. "You are cleared for takeoff."

Rick pushes the throttle, and the veritech races out at about two hundred knots. He looks ahead and sees the band of stars that is the Milky Way.

_We will be there soon._

"Okay, _Tokugawa_," says Rick. "I'm turning around now."

"Copy," says Grant. "Maintain a ten o'clock position two miles away and standby."

"Copy," says Rick. He adjusts his thrusters so that the position of his plane is fixed to that of the battle cruiser. He takes one look at it. It is almost as big as the _Macross_ was. to his starboard side he can see the island where Macross City used to be.

_Of course, it doesn't have a city inside it._

He remembers his first time visiting the island. He had been a teenager then, and was with his father to see Roy Fokker, who was like a big brother to him. His second visit was two years later, on the day that Roy was to deploy into space. It was that day that the Zentraedi first arrived...

"You're cleared, Big Leader," says Grant. "Approach at fifty knots."

Rick does so, and a little over two minutes later his plane coasts into the flight deck, the tail hook catching an arresting cable. He steps out of the plane and walks right into the airlock.

Technicians go into the flight deck, checking every system.

Ooooooooo

"All tests have been completed, Captain Hayes," says Commander Leibowitz. "The hyperspace fold drive is ready."

Lisa picks up a microphone. "All personnel, this is the captain," she says. "Get ready for hyperspace fold."

"All calculations are complete, ma'am," says Lieutenant Grant.

"Fold," says Lisa.

Once again the _Tokugawa _folds into hyperspace, filling the ship with multicolored lights. A few minutes later the ship defolds.

"Are we back?" asks Grant.

"Yes, sir," says a communications technician.

"I don't see the Earth," says Leibowitz.

"I see the Yankees playing against the Gators. Look here."

Leibowitz sees a baseball game, and knows that they are back.

Ooooooo

The final test is for the _Tokugawa_ to land at the Roswell Fleet Yards. The pinpoint barrier system is utilized to dissipate the re-entry heat.

"I see it," says Lisa. "There's the Roswell Fleet Yards."

The captain and the others on the bridge can see the huge complex that is the Roswell Fleet Yards. The town center of Roswell is just to the east. Many battle cruisers are sitting on the ground at the Yards.

"Vertical thrust is at one g," says Grant. "Reducing forward airspeed."

The ship slows, with most of the engines' power being used to keep the battle cruiser about one mile above the ground. Soon the cruiser hovers right above where it is assigned to land.

A few minutes later, the landing struts make contact with the thick concrete.

"We have landed," says Lisa. "All crew report to their section officers. Commander Leibowitz, you have the bridge."

Lisa walks to her office to type up her report to the 2nd Fleet. She knows that a team of engineers will check every square inch of the battle cruiser.

Ooooooo

_Four days later_

Lisa finishes her breakfast in her private quarters. Many of the crew, including Lieutenant Vince Grant, had been demobilized. The only crew here was the maintenance and security crews, as well as the command staff.

"Captain Hayes," says a voice coming from a speaker. "Admiral Shin wishes to speak with you."

"I'll take it in my quarters," replies the captain. She presses a button, and Admiral Shin appears on the screen.

"Good morning, Captain Hayes," says Shin. "Your ship is ready for full deployment."

"When will I move the ship to its home port in moon base ALUce?" asks Lisa.

"As soon as supply loading operations are finished," replies the admiral. "REFCOM has decided to go ahead with the mission to explore beyond our solar system. You will go to ALUce to pick up two battalions of Space Marines. After that, you will explore the galaxy. Details are in the file that my office will send you."

_So it is starting_, Lisa thinks. Admiral Henry Gloval, who had been commander of the Robotech Defense Forces Command (RDFCOM) had told her of a mission to find other habitable planets for humanity to live and to find the homeworld of the Robotech Masters, the creators of the technology called robotech as well as the Zentraedi people. Unfortunately, knowledge of the location of the homeworld of the Robotech Masters was lost with the destruction of the vast bulk of the Zentraedi fleet. And since it was impractical to reconstitute Zentraedi Supreme Commander Dolza from his component subatomic particles and ask him directions to the Robotech Masters, the UEF would have to find them the old-fashioned way.

"I'm looking forward to the mission, sir," says Lisa.

"My file will give you some leads," says Admiral Shin. "It contains a list of places that Supreme Commander Breetai of the Zentraedi had visited back before he met us. You will be exploring one quadrant of the galaxy; I'm sending other ships to explore the other quadrants. This will be a mission of observation and exploration, not war. You are not to initiate hostilities with any aliens. If you are attacked, you will fight enough to ensure that you and your crew can get out of here. Finally, you will gather whatever intelligence you can on the Robotech Masters, and report on any worlds suitable for settlement. Good luck to you, your crew, and your Space Marine detachment, Captain Hayes."

Oooooooo

Max Sterling lies down on his bed in his home in Lemoore, California. His wife Miriya lies next to him silent. Their daughter Dana is already asleep.

Nothing needs to be said. They are just here, together. The world outside, Max's deployment matters nothing at this moment. Only what goes on inside this house matters.

Ooooooo

The _Tokugawa_ takes off from Earth, leaving Roswell Fleet Yards for good. It is only a few hours before the interstellar battle cruiser lands at a landing bay at ALUce base on the moon.

The base is built, along with the city of Apollopolis, on the surface in one of the lunar "seas", near a spot above a huge underground lake that has as much water as Earth's Arctic Ocean. This lake is what made Apollopolis possible. The base itself is a complex of connected buildings, with exterior walls feet thick. Thousands of people are stationed on the base.

Lisa leaves the bridge and watches as Space Marine destroids – huge machines that look like giant suits of armor- are loaded onto the _Tokugawa's _cargo bay. Destroids proved their worth during the First Robotech War.

"I hope they're not needed for combat," says a man in olive-green MARPAT camouflage.

Lisa glances at Space Marine Colonel Amir Santoso. An Indonesian native, he had been a destroid driver during the SDF-1 campaign, fighting in the Battle of Mars Base Sara and the Second Battle of Macross City. He is now the commander of the _Tokugawa's_ Space Marine detachment, a detachment that includes an infantry battalion and a veritech fighter squadron in addition to the destroids.

"Take good care of them," says a uniformed man in blue Class "A's."

"Yes, sir," replies Colonel Santoso.

"I remember when you were just a young officer wanting to explore the world and space outside home," says Space Marine General Victor Maistroff, who had once commanded the Space Marine detachment on board SDF-1, and now commands the Robotech Expeditionary Forces Command (REFCOM), the unified combatant command responsible for exploration and combat outside of Earth's solar system. "Now you have your own Space Marine detachment to take care of."

"At least I get to pick my own destroid, sir," says Santoso. "You got to pick your own veritech back then. And don't worry, if the captain or her crew get into trouble, I'll come to the rescue."

"I said the same thing about Henry Gloval," says Maistroff. The Space Marines under his command had given some, and some of them had given all, for the SDF-1 and its crew. But Space Marines can not save everyone, like during that fateful day five months ago. General Maistroff himself had pulled some people into safety, and a scar on his forehead is a reminder of that day. But many people were lost that day, including Admiral Henry Gloval.

After a few hours, the supply loading operations at ALUce base is finished. Lisa goes back to the bridge.

"Get ready for takeoff," she says.

The battle cruiser takes off from the moon, arriving in orbit about sixty thousand miles from Earth.

"We're ready to fold," says Lieutenant Vince Grant.

The _Tokugawa_ then folds into hyperspace.


	4. Chapter 4

Commander Max Sterling sits inside the cockpit, clutching the control stick and pressing on the trigger. While inside the cockpit, he operates on a whole new level.

Three of the enemy comes after him. He looks vulnerable.

But with a few pushes of buttons and pulls of levers, the veritech fighter pilot makes quick work of all three of them. He sees another enemy fighter. He takes aim, and fires.

_Tag your it_. The enemy fighter explodes in flames.

The canopy opens, and Max steps outside.

"Really impressive flying, Max," says Space Marine Lieutenant Colonel Akira Nomura, commanding officer of Knight Squadron, , the Space Marine veritech squadron assigned to the _Tokugawa_. "Maybe we can do this again sometime."

Skull Squadron had just finished a joint simulator exercise with Knight Squadron. Experience had taught the two squadron CO's that simulated battles against AI opponents pale in comparison to simulated battles between flesh-and-blood pilots.

The battle cruiser does have automated probes and drones. However, guided missiles never fully replaced soldiers. Neither would probes or drones fully replace fighter planes.

"Hope you had fun in the sims," says Captain Rick Hunter, dressed in service khakis instead of the flight suits the pilots who had been training were wearing.

"Captain Hunter," says Colonel Nomura, "we should schedule maneuvers drilling in the real planes, out in space.

"Maybe even some target practice," suggests Max.

"I'll consider it," says Rick. "I'll be in my office."

"Prepare for hyperspace fold," says Second Lieutenant Vince Grant, his voice coming from the intercom speakers.

Ooooooooo

"We are approaching the planet," says Lieutenant Grant, looking at the screen on his console.

The _Tokugawa _is approaching its second planet in this star system. The first planet they had visited was a gas giant. Basic information was recorded- the planet's atmosphere was mostly hydrogen, and the temperature was a frigid minus 40 Fahrenheit. The only moons were a few rocks about fifty to two hundred miles long.

It had been two weeks since the crew began their mission. The other places they had visited were empty of any life. Captain Lisa Hayes had been given a star chart and a list of places the Zentraedi had previously visited.

"There doesn't seem to be any moons around that planet," says Commander Aaron Leibowitz.

"Take us to a fifteen thousand mile orbit," says Lisa.

"Aye aye, ma'am," replies Grant.

Oooooooo

"We detected gravitational waves, sir," says a sensor technician in a bunker beneath the planet's surface. "Consistent with a hyperspace fold or defold."

"Can you tell?" asks an officer.

"No, sir."

"Radar's picking up a signal," says another technician. "It's approaching us. It might be a ship."

The officer picks up a handset.

Oooooo

Colored lights from the liquid crystal displays of the monitors provide most of the light for the bridge of the battle cruiser. The bridge crew watches the monitors. The huge near-spherical shape of a planet dominates the view from the bridge.

"It's really hot down there," says a crewman, looking at the monitor screen. "About 180 Fahrenheit in the equatorial regions."

"So much for shore leave down there," says Commander Aaron Leibowitz. He strokes his short-cropped beard with his index finger.

"Sir, ma'am, spectral analysis indicates that the planet has a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere," says another crewman. "Maybe we could walk around on the surface near the polar regions at night."

"There seem to be radio transmissions from the planet," says a third crewman. "I wonder if there are survivors down there."

"Captain," says a radarman watching the radar screens. "We're detecting six objects rising up from the atmosphere. Their velocity is increasing."

"Keep an eye on those signals," replies the captain.

It is not surprising that there are people down there, if the intelligence reports were accurate, although it would not have not been surprising if there was no one left- or at least no one left to broadcast radio waves or launch rockets. The people on the bridge wonder what will happen. Are those blips, speeding towards the battle cruiser, a welcoming flight? Or missiles?

Captain Lisa Hayes looks at the planet, preparing to make a decision.

"They are all converging on our position," says a crewman.

"Emergency fold now!" yells Lisa.

Oooooooo

"Contact made," says a radar technician on the planet.

"I'll call headquarters," says an officer.

Oooooooo

"We are detecting gamma ray bursts from our former position," says a radar technician a few seconds after the emergency fold and defold. "It is consistent with a multi-megaton thermonuclear detonation."

"Our multiple thermonuclear detonations," says Commander Leibowitz.

"Stay on Yellow Alert," says Lisa.

On the surface of the minds of the bridge staff is the idea that they had barely escaped death.

Ooooooo

Below the surface of the planet, people meet in a conference room. They would stand out on Earth, being covered in a layer of fur. They are dressed in capes and necklaces, and one of them wears a gold chain. The coloring of the fur varies between each person. They all sit around a wooden table. A painting adorns one of the wood-paneled walls.

"What do we have?" asks the person wearing a gold chain.

"A ship folded out of hyperspace, my lord," says another person, an officer in the military. "The missiles we launched detonated. Latest reports are there are no signs of the ship."

"Any other ships?"

"None, my lord."

"I am surprised the _rawb'tok_ people only sent one ship to attack us."

"Unfortunately, we do not know of anything happening beyond our solar system. Even if they had not destroyed our starships, we would not be able to continue a war with them. Only the _rawb'tok_ people know how to refine the _prawt'kulch_ that powered our ships. We depended on them- until they destroyed most of our ancestors."

"Could we develop other power sources?" asks the ruler.

"Possibly, my lord, but none with the energy density of the _prawt'kulch_ reaction," says a technical advisor. "Not even the fusion reactions that power our sun has the same energy density."

Ooooooo

"Not a good way to make a first impression," says Vice Admiral Shin Lung.

"Right," says Lisa, speaking to the admiral via hyperspatial radio, allowing real-time communication across interstellar distances. "But the Zentraedi did attack them, and the _Tokugawa_ uses the same power source as the Zentraedi do, and likely the Robotech Masters. If there was a way to convince them that we come in peace, and that the Zentraedi are no longer at war with them, we can establish dialogue, and they might share intel on the Robotech Masters."

"And you have a plan to contact them?"

"Yes, sir."

Oooooooo

"What we are doing, sir, ma'am, is sending a sequence of prime numbers," says Lieutenant Forbes, who is an exo-linguist, part of a science team the Spacy assigned to the _Tokugawa_. It broadcasts the name of the number, followed by a series of beeps. Hopefully, the aliens will figure out, and we can know how to count in their language."

A relay probe had been launched to orbit about ten thousand miles around the planet. It had been prerecorded with a message. The idea of communicating using prime numbers had been developed long ago.

Lisa and the others wait, and wait.

"We're receiving something," says a communications specialist about an hour and a half after the probe started broadcasting.

Lisa listens. The message is confusing at first.

Then she notices what it is. The message consists of a word, followed by a series of beeps.

_The prime numbers._

Oooooooo

"Captain Hayes, thank you for the update," says Admiral Shin. "The alien message has been forwarded to REFCOM intelligence."

"Is that all, sir?" asks Lisa.

"For now," says Shin. "We have messages to send to your crew and Space MarinesPersonal messages. You will continue your mission. There's the rest of the galaxy to see."

Ooooooo

"It's really hot outside," says Miriya Parino-Sterling, sitting inside the living room of her home. "Over a hundred today. At least the air conditioning works in the house. Now wave to daddy, Dana."

Dana Komilia Sterling waves at the camera.

"We love you, and we want you to come home safe."

Max sits in his quarters, looking as the recorded video ends, the last image being that of his wife and daughter.

And another child is on the way.

Ooooooo

"I wonder if it was a mistake, my lord," says an advisor. "Sending that message."

"We've no means of waging interstellar war," says the ruler. "Either the _rawb'tok_ people no longer wish to continue the war, or something happened to them. Maybe someone else destroyed them, maybe they broke apart from within. We have to spread our wings."

The ruler sits down, feeling the weight of responsibility bearing down on him.


End file.
